Husband Posts Photo of Him ‘Cheating’ On His Wife at Target on Facebook, and It Goes Viral

A Target store in a file photo. Illustration - Shutterstock

From the archives: This story was last updated in August 2019.

For many married couples, the burdens and busyness of everyday life can sometimes get in the way of appreciating that special person in their lives. Accustomed to seeing their spouses as fellow caregivers, nurses, and line cooks, they forget just how beautiful the person they married is.

But as one Utah man discovers, seeing his spouse in a very different context made him fall in love again with the woman he married.

Jason Hewlett is a comedian and motivational speaker from Salt Lake City, Utah, who is known for his amazing impressions of celebrities and his clean, family-friendly humor. He also is a devoted family man with a wife and kids.

But little that Hewlett has done in his life or his career would garner as much attention as a Facebook post he made in December 2015. While in the checkout line at his local Target, Hewlett happened to see a woman whom he found very attractive. “Kind of embarrassed to admit this, but I think I sort of cheated on my wife today,” he wrote in his post.

For all the readers wondering what man would be so foolish and cruel as to post this information on social media, he quickly clarified. “I went to pay I saw this woman in line that knocked me out. I thought, ‘Wow, some lucky guy is with her.’” In less than a moment, Hewlett realized that the woman in question was none other than his wife, Tami Hewlett.

What made the moment so special for Hewlett was getting to see his wife again with new eyes. “It was just out of context to see my spouse at the same store, in the same line, living her life and not knowing she might be at the same place, same time, different car.”

Hewlett jokingly sent her several messages to see if she would turn around and notice him. “I just watched my cute little Love, tried to text her stuff like, ‘Hey Hottie’ and ‘What are you buying now my Babelicious?’” Tami Hewlett, on the other hand, had no idea he was behind her and was busy getting on with her day.

Seeing his wife in this way made him realize several things, including how lucky he was to be with her. “I realized how close I came to not ever winning her love in the first place,” he wrote. Not to mention “the herculean efforts I had to make all those years ago to even get her attention just to say yes to one date!”

Most importantly, Hewlett “was ultimately so pleased to see her in complete confidence on this day, as the independent, capable, humble, fun, sweet, kind, awesome person she is.” For him, the lesson was clear. “It’s good to look at those we love with fresh eyes whenever we can to remind us how lucky we are to have their light in our lives.”

Little he did know, Hewlett’s post would blow up on social media. As he told TODAY, “I hit enter, and within seconds I was getting comments from friends all over the country. It was bizarre.” To date, the post has received over 131,000 likes and 83,000 shares.

While comments flooded in about how sweet the gesture was and how much it made people appreciate Hewlett’s approach, others also questioned it as “creepy” or even claimed that it was a setup to get attention.

That’s when the lady in question, Tami Hewlett, weighed in on Facebook. “He probably did not recognize me that day because I actually got ready, he usually sees me in a braid and in my ‘good sweats’ and he loves me that way too!” As for him appreciating the beauty of other women, she wrote that that didn’t bother her in the slightest.

“I trust him 100% I’m grateful that he sees the beauty in all people. He often pays compliments to women in front of me and I love that about him. I am secure enough with myself and I know who he chooses.”

After having been the subject of a lot of online speculation, Tami Hewlett showed just how gracious she could be. “Thank you for all of the comments good, bad, funny, and sad, I’m so happy that his little story sparked some exchange of love and appreciation! Let’s Love and appreciate each other a little more!”

A funny compliment to a wife ultimately got people talking about the relationships that matter most, and for the Hewletts, that was definitely a good thing.